The Hunted

[Mizuki]

Blade grabbed Rai and quickly put them both at a protective distance from whatever else the man could potentially throw that them or Sid. He watched, with an almost satisifed grin, Sid beat the bounty hunter within an inch of his life. Blade stayed with Rai, protecting her from whatever else could come after her while Sid was busy. He didn't like this, and he wished his mother and Soran were here.

But they too got stuck during the flight, and he couldn't help them. It made him angry. He held Rai closely to him, his wings surrounding them, almost like a black shield.

"Are you alright sister?" he asked her.

[Emora Deen]

Rai looked up at him. “I think I’m okay,” she told him truthfully as she wrapped her arms around his waist, noting it was warmer when surrounded by his wings. She was still panting to catch her breath. “Are you going to kill him?” Rai asked, frowning slightly. She just wanted someone to warn her so she could turn away or something. Rai surprisingly, or maybe frighteningly, had no objection to the man dying… But, she still felt it was wrong of her to watch.

[Mizuki]

He grimaced, "That is more than likely Sid's plan... I'm sorry sister." Rai felt warm, which gladdened him. She wasn't cold and didn't feel of any kind of fever. At least he could do this much right.

[Soran Nightblade]

"Probably," Sid acknowledged, standing up from the whimpering man. "Later." He looked at Blade. Maybe he was imagining it, but he though he had an understanding with the angel at the moment. "This place clearly isn't safe right now, for her," he noted to Blade, gesturing down at the girl. "Let's forget the camp. See if you can get her over the Border, tonight."

[Mizuki]

Blade nodded, but took a notice to the "you".

"What about you Sid? Are you not going to follow?" Blade asked him, reverting almost back into a child-like state. LIke a child asking if their father would be coming home. Blade could carry Rai, but not Sid AND Rai. But never once did he think they would split up at any point. The idea suddenly scared him.

[Emora Deen]

Rai frowned, shaking her head. “No, its fine. I’ll be fine. We can stay together. No bad guys are coming, he was lying,” she protested, her bright blue eyes looking up at Rai. The face of a young woman suddenly looked very terrified. And then she looked down at the man, who even through his pain was laughing. She tore away from Blade and ran up to the body, kicking him soundly in the head twice. He fell limp and unconscious and she stared down at his bleeding sleeping face.

"If we leave you... will you promise not to be hurt? Will you promise to meet us? Will you promise me that?" Rai had always been older in her own way... It was just now people could finally take her seriously as she was. She understood that the way things were going she was putting everyone in danger. If they didn't get far enough away she'd end up getting them all killed, and it would be her fault.

"We'll go if you promise..."

[Soran Nightblade]

Sid felt shocked by the children's reactions to his plan, but also a little touched. "Don't get all antsy for my sake!" he guffawed, rubbing both of their scalps with his big hands. "Your Uncle Sid's got plenty of fight in him yet. I'll make more progress without you runts to look after," he teased. He wondered how Rhen would feel about his adopting the title of Uncle. Did that make them brothers? The mental image of the elf's aggravated scowl made him smirk. "Just get yerselves across the Border and find a safe place. I'll be along once I've had my vacation time from the lot of you maniacs."

He crouched in front of Rai and brushed back the hair he'd just ruffled with his fingers. "You're a strong girl. Take care of your little brother," he said encouragingly.

[Emora Deen]

Rai smiled and glanced to Blade. He was younger than her in years, but older than her in looks. Only by a year or two though. "I'll take care of him," she promised Sid as she returned her bright blue eyes to him. "Please be careful."

[Soran Nightblade]

"Course I'll be careful," Sid smirked, straightening up and sauntering a step back from them. "Now scram!"

[Mizuki]

Blade guffawed at that. "I can take care of both of us fine!" He mocked glared with a small smile on his face. He stood protectively near his sister and looked at Sid with respect. "Break your promise, and I'll hunt down your shade." He had a serious tone in his voice, but it was also a joke. He held out his hand for Rai to take. Their fastest way out was flight.

[Mizuki]

Blade flew Rai high over the tree tops, trying to stay out of range of arrows and magical attacks. He held on to her tightly, he could feel that she was afraid of flight but was braving it because it was their only choice. He had no idea what his goal was. He knew to just fly out of Darkwood and far away. Soon they were going over valleys and getting deeper into the mountainous borders lands. It was getting cold, neither were dressed for it and he started to worry.

He sensed something far behinde them, back towards Darkwood. He had no idea-wait. He smiled, mother and father were safe, and mother was regaining the powers she had lost. He told Rai to cheer her up, give her hope. And then he saw something shimmering in the distance. He didn't know what it was but felt drawn to it. He immediantly fought the feeling. If that was Arken trying to trick him, he wouldn't give them the satisfaction. So, he moved to veer off course of the shimmering... barrier? he was coming up on.

"Blade Nightblade-Ryoko you veer off course from your grandmother and you'll receive such a seer backlash you'll cry for your mother."

Blade almost faltered in mid-flight. His grandmother? Grandma Gwendolyn? he never got to meet her while he started growing up, but he had vauge memories of her when he was a baby.

"Huh," he murmured. "Looks like we're seeing Grandma Rai." He smiled and went back towards the shimmering barrier.

[Emora Deen]

Rai looked at the shimmering thing. She didn’t trust it. She didn’t like magic just about as much as Soran did. After all, look what magic had done to her. Her hands clutched Blade a little tighter.
“Can we walk for a little while?” Rai asked him quickly, not wanting to fly through that thing. “Maybe stop and rest. You must be tired. Maybe we can find an inn like old times and take a nap.” Then, she remembered that Blade was not old enough to remember those times, or had not been around then. She was exhausted, and fighting to stay awake to make sure Blade was alright… But he had been flying for a while, and she suspected that even he had to grow tired at some point.

[Mizuki]

"Huh? Oh-are you getting uncomfortable?" Blade asked her gently. He looked back towards the shimmering barrier, it was still far away. He wasn't tired at all really. True, Rai was a little heavy now, but it wasn't like he couldn't handle it. But the flying seemed to be bothering her. "Are you sure? It's a bit cold, We're not exactly dressed for it." But he dipped lower towards the ground anyway. They were out of range, for from whatever Arken soldiers that had been following them, and maybe if he flew a little closer to it she might get more comfortable.

[Emora Deen]

Rai glanced down at the ground. "I'm just afraid of that shinny thing a head, that's all," she admitted against her better judgement. Though, she was really sleepy, exhausted both physically and mentally, she desperately wanted a hot bath and a warm bed.

[Mizuki]

Blade smiled. "Please, don't be. It's Gwendolyn." It then occured to him that Rai may not know who Gwendolyn was. He was born there, he knew Rai was with his parents for a long time, but did she ever meet Gwendolyn? He didn't know. He didn't either, just vague memories and what his mother had told him in their recent, yet short, time together. "Mizuki's mother. Did you ever meet her?"